1997 Heng Li Chang Bulang

A pleasant astringent nature subsides to provide many pleasing infusions, very strong active mouth feel coating the tongue and providing stimulation quite a while after drinking. A woody full bodied presence can be found all the way in to the later brews,satisfying in its rough textures. Initial put about 7 g of this in a 100ml gaiwan, but I could not believe how powerful the qi was, i was pummeled in to submission until i removed about half the leaf, but I'm quite new to puerh of this type so i might be sensitive, but i think less leaves can be better for this tea perhaps.
Wonderful effects all round, I for one will be buying some more soon.

(Posted on 29/11/2011)

I originally purchased this sample shortly after reading Hobbes’ review of it. Being fairly naïve and new to puerh teas, I scour the web for reviews and recommendations of quality tea. The leaves are consistent and a golden, dusty brown. The tea brews dark, reddish brown as expected and lasts many infusions. I enjoyed this tea, and while I don’t see myself buying an entire cake (at least, not anytime soon), I do plan on saving the second portion of our sample to enjoy at a later date. (Posted on 29/11/2011)

This tea exudes a divine woodiness aroma in even its first brew that I just have to sit down and smile. It brews dark and has a prominent bitter punch to it that really blooms, along with a nice cooling effect on the lips. I highly recommend this tea as a wonderful experience of a tea with nice aged qualities and still retaining some of the vibrancy of its youth. (Posted on 16/11/2011)

I ordered a sample and must say this tea is among my favorites. Going only 4g for 100ml nevertheless the taste is intense and the liquor is full bodied. Though this tea spent 14 years in Taiwan, still some of the young bulang characters are present. The durability is also impressive. A nice tea which is picking up a promising aged character but still has the bite.
Norbert (Posted on 24/10/2011)

The first couple of infusions give off strong, spicy aromas reminiscent of Christmas pudding and damp autumn leaves. The tea soup is dark and full-bodied; a wet-storage taste is present but not overwhelming and the rich flavours of the tea are offset by a bitterness which endures throughout the infusions. (Posted on 14/10/2011)

Another of EoT's most popular teas, maybe because of the popularity of young Bulang teas? For its vintage the tea's got some good aging progress for sure, and it still obviously displays the characteristics of its origins.

There are some curious things about this tea--the liquor of the first infusions is almost black, and often the wet leaves don't gain back the complete softness you'd expect from an aged sheng. Whether it's the original processing or the humid storage, as far as I can tell it still doesn't really negatively affect the tea in the cup, which produces a simultaneously smooth mouthfeel and long-lasting bitterness. Though the flavor at any given steeping could be critiqued as being one-dimensional, I'm pretty satisfied with the tea's progression across infusions, ultimately giving up that deep-infusion light sweetness that only somewhat-aged sheng pu-erh can produce. Let's see what the bitterness turns into in another 10 years! (Posted on 20/09/2011)

Well, as other reviewers have noted, this is a strong tea! I have to admit that it is different from what I typically drink (usually lighter, young sheng) but I quite like it. It definitely has some wet storage taste, which I am usually somewhat sensitive to, but I find it be a good offset to the strong Bulang bitterness somehow. I agree that this tea will probably age well. And you really should be careful brewing this, it really does have some fierce bitterness! (Posted on 12/09/2011)

I start of giving this tea flash infusions as this tea still has tons of Bulang bitterness. The soup is very thick and rich. As the tea mellows out in later infusions it looses the bitterness and has a nice smooth taste. I was very much impressed with this tea. As there is still so much power left in this to be smoothed out I think this tea will become a legendary tea in another 15 -20 years. They say the Red Mark was still very astringent at 20 years of age, but it will be hard to keep a cake around that long without drinking it. (Posted on 09/09/2011)

This is one of tea best teas in the store. I suggest that you brew this tea lightly, because it is full of power. This is great candidate for storing. Love it! (Posted on 07/09/2011)

I love this tea! If you are looking for a puerh that has lots of character and is a bit different from what you normally find in a good aged sheng, then here it is! The famed bitterness of Bulang is definitely there, especially in the first couple of infusions, although totally different from the tartness you find in younger puerhs, especially from this area. Here the bitter is only a brief introduction to a much more complex woody and canfor taste that lasts minutes and minutes in the mouth. This sheng is a still a little rough on the tongue and will for sure benefit from more aging. I would suggest to use a Yixing, unless you are daring (or an old-timer in the puerh world, with worn-out taste buds). Great tea! (Posted on 25/08/2011)